[Text by Observer Network, Ruan Jiaqi]

In recent years, Haiti has been plagued by political turmoil, natural disasters, public security issues, and humanitarian crises. Over the past few months, the local security situation has continued to deteriorate, with a high incidence of violent crimes. With little success from international intervention and government measures, Haiti, at its wit's end, has turned to private military forces to combat armed gangs.

According to a report by The New York Times on the 28th, multiple senior Haitian officials and U.S. security experts revealed that Haiti has hired the American private military contractor Erik Prince (Erik Prince) to take "lethal actions" against the country's gang groups.

Prince is the founder and former CEO of Blackwater, the American private military contractor infamous for the "Iraq civilian massacre incident" in 2007. Prince is also a major donor to President Trump's campaign and has extremely close ties with him. During his first term as president, Trump pardoned four Blackwater employees who were sentenced for the massacre of Iraqi civilians. Prince's sister was then serving as Education Secretary in Trump's cabinet.

With the increase in criminal charges, Blackwater gradually faded from public view, but Prince still holds military entities. Over the past decade, he has mainly done business in resource-rich war-torn countries, involving mineral resources, military contracting, and arms dealing.

The New York Times quoted security experts as saying that the Haitian government has hired American private military contractors, including Prince, over the past few months to form a secret task force, deploying drones to kill gang members. Since March this year, Prince's team has been conducting drone operations. The report claims that these operations have resulted in more than 200 deaths, but authorities have not announced the killing or capture of any high-value targets.

Other experts also revealed that Prince is recruiting Haitian-American veterans and plans to send up to 150 mercenaries to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, this summer. Two experts also mentioned that Prince recently shipped large quantities of weapons to Haiti.

An American official told The New York Times that they are aware of Prince's cooperation with the Haitian government but are unclear about the details of their agreement and service fees.

The U.S. Department of State responded, stating that it will not pay for any work carried out by Prince or his company in Haiti. Washington claimed that it had provided millions of dollars to the Haitian National Police for purchasing equipment and training.

On July 3, 2024, Kenyan police patrolling near Port-au-Prince airport, Visual China

As the first Western Hemisphere country to declare independence from colonial rule, the Caribbean island nation of Haiti has long faced severe political and social crises, especially since the assassination of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, when armed gang势力 in Haiti became increasingly rampant. Approximately 200 armed gangs operate in Haiti, seriously threatening local social order and repeatedly triggering humanitarian crises.

In recent months, gang activities in Haiti have become even more rampant, with expanding control areas. Relevant data shows that gang势力 have already taken control of more than 85% of Port-au-Prince.

The New York Times reported that given Haiti's insufficient police manpower, outdated equipment, and the failure of multinational security support teams to turn the tide, the Haitian government is turning to private military contractors equipped with heavy weapons, helicopters, and advanced reconnaissance attack drones. At least one American security company is currently operating secretly in Haiti.

This situation aligns perfectly with Prince's "mutual pursuit"—as the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan and Iraq, his security company's revenue sharply declined, and he is now seeking new opportunities in Latin America.

A person close to Mr. Prince said that Prince hopes to expand his scope of work in Haiti, including assisting in restoring customs, transportation, taxation, and other government services.

U.S. media reports that Prince declined to comment on this. The Office of the Prime Minister of Haiti and the Presidential Committee responsible for transitional governance did not respond to requests for comment.

Throughout decades of overseas military interventions, Prince has always been embroiled in controversy: In addition to the "Iraq civilian massacre incident" mentioned earlier, in 2011, Prince helped Arab countries recruit and train a Colombian mercenary force to intervene in Middle Eastern conflicts; in 2017, he proposed a plan to have contractors take over Afghanistan; in 2020, he was accused of recruiting former spies to help conservative activists infiltrate liberal groups in the United States...

A year later, in 2021, Prince was also accused by the United Nations of violating Libya's arms embargo, which he strongly denied. He then stated, "My name has become a traffic password for conspiracy theorists, and mentioning me can grab attention—it's really nauseating."

Haitian-American veteran Rod Joseph (Rod Joseph) told The New York Times that he has been negotiating with Prince since the end of last year, hoping to provide personnel for his Haiti contract.

Joseph runs an anti-terrorism training company in Florida and once provided reconnaissance drones to the Haitian police. According to him, Prince initially implied that this security plan was supported by the U.S. government, but later claimed that it was directly under the jurisdiction of the Haitian government. Prince also told him that he planned to dispatch soldiers from El Salvador and bring three helicopters to Haiti.

Joseph also claimed that Prince sent him a text message a few days ago asking for a list of Haitian-American veterans who could be sent to Haiti, but he refused to provide it. The reason for refusal was that Joseph also wanted a share, demanding Prince provide detailed information about the mission and allowing him to lead the team.

Joseph told The New York Times that he felt "uneasy" about contractors working directly with the Haitian government without U.S. supervision.

"We should be very concerned," he said. "Because if Prince represents the U.S. government, at least on the surface, he is accountable to Congress; but if it’s a private contract, he owes no one an explanation. This is just another money-making scheme."

This article is an exclusive contribution from the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7509757839435416115/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author. Please express your opinions by clicking the 'like' or 'dislike' button below.